Military

SHAPE News Morning Update

28 February 2003

NATO

• NATO Secretary-General Robertson said on Thursday the alliance would never hesitate to rush to the defense of East Europe, soothing worries among seven alliance candidates in the region after the split over Turkey. “I think there is no likelihood of similar situations developing in this part of the world,” Robertson told a news conference during a visit to Lithuania. “The countries of the alliance in this part of the world can and should expect that if they ask the alliance for help, they will get it as quickly as possible,” he said. Robertson warned that the candidates -- the three Baltic states and Bulgaria, Romania, Slovakia and Slovenia -- would be closely scrutinized by alliance members ahead of accession in 2004, adding they should expect to be taken for a bumpy ride. “I don’t think it will be smooth,” he told the Lithuanian parliament about the ratification process by all parliaments in the alliance.(Reuters 1738 270203 GMT)
  
  
• The United States nudged NATO on Thursday to consider roles it could play in a post-conflict Iraq, but avoided presenting specific plans to allies still reeling from a bust-up over preparations for war. Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Marc Grossman told ambassadors to the defense alliance that a U.S. proposal made three months ago for NATO to conduct humanitarian and stability operations in Iraq was still on the table. But he stressed it was up to NATO to decide on such tasks and not Washington, whose pressure some believe was partly to blame for turning the alliance's recent standoff over bolstering Turkey’s defenses into an acrimonious showdown. “One of the ambassadors asked me if it (the post-war role proposal) was still on my table,” Grossman told reporters. Diplomats said that although Grossman brought no shopping list of tasks for NATO after a conflict, his presentation of what the United States has in mind after an ouster of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein kept the issue alive. Grossman said visits to NATO headquarters by a string of senior Bush administration officials showed “how important this alliance remains to the United States of America”.(Reuters 1552 270203 GMT)
  
  
• Slovenia’s parliament voted Thursday to make an upcoming referendum on entry into NATO legally binding, leaving the country’s planned accession into the alliance hanging in the balance. The latest opinion polls in the tiny Alpine republic show that support for NATO has dropped dramatically in recent months, with only one percentage point separating those who favor membership and those who are opposed. Earlier this week, a poll conducted by the Faculty of Social Sciences at Ljubljana University showed that only 37 percent of 1000 respondents supported entry into NATO, while 36 were against. Twenty-seven remained undecided.. Political analyst, Grga Repovz, noted that “the result was a dramatic drop” since December, when 50 percent were in favor. He attributed the sagging support to an already safe sense of security in and around Slovenia contrasting with rising fears of being dragged into a distant war by NATO superpowers. “The government has not been persuasive enough in demonstrating the advantages of joining the alliance, while the situation with Iraq and Afghanistan has also worked strongly in whipping up anti-NATO sentiment,” Repovz said. (AP 271621 Feb 03 GMT)
  

IRAQ

• Iraq told the United Nations on Thursday it agreed “in principle” to destroy dozens of its missiles as demanded by chief UN inspector Hans Blix, who voiced dismay in a crucial report that Baghdad had not made greater efforts to cooperate with inspectors. At the same time, a UN Security Council meeting erupted into chaos with smaller nations, such as Chile and Mexico, demanding the badly divided big powers -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- reach a common position. “Nobody makes a step toward bridging the gap. We are all coming up with innovative ways to defend our own positions. There is no atmosphere of ‘Where do we go from here?’” Chilean envoy Christian Maquierira said. U.S. and British envoys also moved to crush a possible compromise by objecting to a bid by Germany to have Blix publish a list of unresolved disarmament issues that could be used to measure Iraqi compliance and delay warfare. On the missiles controversy, Gen. Amir Al-Saadi, an adviser to Iraqi President Saddam Hussein, sent a letter to Blix saying that it accepted his order “in principle” to destroy Al-Samoud 2 rockets, the United Nations announced. Arms inspectors had determined the missiles exceeded the 150-km (90-mile) range set in UN resolutions. Diplomats who saw the letter said Baghdad had put no conditions on its acceptance, although it said Blix’s decision was not justified.(Reuters 0245 280203 GMT)
  
  
• After weeks of indecision, the Canadian government stated clearly on Thursday it would be unable to make any substantial deployment of ground troops to Iraq because of its commitment to peacekeeping in Afghanistan. The government has been reluctant to commit to any ground operation in Iraq ahead of a UN decision. “Having made this substantial commitment to Afghanistan, we will not be in a position to send substantial ground troops for a year or more to any other country,” Defense Minister McCallum told reporters after making a military policy speech. “This does not rule out a possible participation in Iraq should there be a war and should the government wish to do so -- but not through ground troops.” He said it was possible to deploy ships and airplanes already in the region. But these would be only in an auxiliary role, since there no strike aircraft there and the ships are not equipped with missiles that could strike Iraq.(Reuters1905 270203 GMT)

BALKANS

• Officials from three Balkan states said Thursday they do not believe their pro-U.S. stand on the Iraqi crisis will prejudice their chance of joining the EU and NATO. Foreign Ministry delegates from Albania, Croatia and Macedonia (sic) attended a meeting with U.S. Ambassador to Albania James F. Jeffrey to discuss a joint charter with the United States, which they hope will increase their chances of joining NATO. The charter, aimed at regulating closer cooperation with the United States, will be signed in Washington “in the near future,” the officials said. Washington has historically played a leading role in NATO “being the first among equals,” Roland Bimo, an Albanian foreign ministry official, said. He added that the three may sign a similar charter with the EU at a later date.(AP 271621 Feb 03 GMT)

OTHER NEWS

• The United States is considering moving troop bases from Germany to Bulgaria, Defense Minister Nikolai Svinarov was quoted as saying on Thursday, in a move that would reward Sofia’s backing for Washington over Iraq. Svinarov told state news agency BTA on his return from a trip to Washington that Bulgaria was keen to host U.S. forces, who would bring considerable economic benefits to the impoverished Balkan state and guarantee its security. “There is a possibility of providing four or five bases to the United States,” Svinarov said, adding he discussed the option with representatives of the U.S. Senate's foreign affairs committee and other officials. The talk, denied so far by officials in President Bush’s administration, had largely centered on Poland, where U.S. forces already conduct huge live-fire training exercises. Deputy Foreign Minister Lyubomir Ivanov told reporters that moving U.S. troops to Bulgaria would be part of a U.S. plan to restructure its military forces in Europe. “It’s not a process that will be completed in days or months. It would take more time,” said Ivanov.(Reuters 1726 270203 GMT)